Joseph Michael

The Magnificent 7 "invest nearly $400 billion annually into frontier tech (comparable to the GDP of Norway), of which $20–30 billion is in VC rounds (comparable to UK’s total VC investment)." 🤠💰 Good stuff here from Dealroom.co on the tech giants. Their market caps are big, and there's a good chance they'll all just keep getting bigger. That greatly impacts R&D, CVC, M&A, HR, etc. in deeptech globally. https://lnkd.in/ehExX8sa #vc #venturecapital #tech #technology #innovation #deeptech #ai #artificialintelligence #nvidia #facebook #apple #microsoft #tesla #amazon #google #startups #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #money #business

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The energy at Slush Helsinki highlights the transformative power of AI, the ripple effects of IPOs, and the resilience of VC investments in the ever-evolving tech landscape. At STARTGUIDE VC, we see these trends resonating strongly with our focus on early-stage startups in the CEE region. AI's rapid advancements align with our mission to back scalable, impactful digital solutions. How do you see these dynamics shaping the next wave of innovation? #VCTrends #AI #Startups #CEEInnovation #Slush2024

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In the Norrsken Accelerate Fund we have made 20 investments this year in super exciting impact tech startups that are tackling some of the big issues on the planet.🌍 I’d like to the spotlight on the amazing founders behind these companies. 📸 First out are Sébastien Fiedorow and Steven Bardey, PhD who are the founders of Aerleum. What they are doing is defossilizing heavy industries which is crucial for reducing GHG emissions globally. Sectors like shipping, road transport, and aviation need clean fuels with high energy density, cost-efficiency, and supply chain compatibility. How they address this is be having a unique technology that produces e-methanol from captured CO2 and low-carbon hydrogen. It burns cleanly, has high energy density, and integrates with current supply chains. By doing this they strive to remove giga-tons of carbon dioxide from the air and transform it into clean alternatives for fossil-based products which will be massive win for the planet.💚 Read more about Aerleum here: https://www.aerleum.com/ and ping me if you want to get in touch with them.

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Three biggest learnings from a fundraising journey. Shared by Rainer Märkle, General Partner at HV Capital at EUVC 1/ Have a time box with a deadline attached. Have a defined horizon & create a clear plan. Have some urgency to get things done at some point. Execute very transparently and reliably. 2/ Stick to your narrative. But don't do it blindly. Tweak it when necessary. Adapt it. Don't let yourself be surprised by major changes. Keep focusing on delivering according to your strategy & plan. 3/ Fundraising is a marathon with many sprints. There are moments when you'll ask yourself - Why do I do this? Is it gonna work out? But don't get too negative during the down phases. Adapting and pivoting is part of our job. As it is for the founder of a company. How about you? What fundraising lessons have you learned? Join the conversation. 🔽 #venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #europe

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Very proud to announce emma Ventures’ first Direct Venture Secondaries deal! 🚀   Great to combine our vast experience in the Secondaries space with our activity in Venture Capital and to create a win-win situation for the company, the seller and emma Ventures as the buyer! 🤝   Venture Secondaries are on the rise – at a time when companies are staying private for longer, investors increasingly embrace the Secondaries markets as a practical third option to liquidity where they are able to control the timing of their exit, unlike in a traditional IPO or M&A. ↗️   By purchasing from early shareholders seeking liquidity, Secondaries buyers can acquire stakes in potentially high-growth companies at reduced risk and an attractive pricing - thereby supporting the company as long-term partner in the next phase of growth. ⚙️

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New from me at OMERS Ventures: Once AI becomes omnipresent – and maybe our primary work surface – what might our working lives look like? 💭 Lower latency and less lossy translation of thought into action 🧠 A refactoring of how and where knowledge work happens 📝 Less opportunity to hide inefficiencies in the 'pre-work' stages ➡ Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gtx-2uFn

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18 startups who have Just raised their Pre-seed, Seed & Series A rounds. 1. Biolevate who are revolutionizing healthcare innovation has raised €6M led by EQT Ventures. 2. Kong Inc., a cloud-native platform that powers API-led connectivity for developer productivity has raised $175M. 3. Volta Software has raised €6M who are shaping the future of B2B commerce - this pre-seed round represents the biggest pre-seed round for an Italian startup. 4. Appcharge, the leading direct-to-consumer platform for mobile game publishers to scale paying user growth has raised $26M led by Creandum. 5. yhangry, the go-to platform for finding a chef to cook for any occasion has raised $1M. 6. MAGIC AI, uses computer vision, connected weights and 3D cameras to deliver personal training by the world's best athletes at home has raised $5M led by IW Capital. 7. Roon who are reimagining medical content and health communities has raised $15M led by Forerunner and FirstMark. 8. /dev/agents, the next-gen operating system for AI agents has raised $56M from Index Ventures and others. 9. OpenYield, the modern bond marketplace has raised $7M led by Canapi Ventures. 10. Grey Market Labs which is making organizations more protected and more productive has raised $8M Series A led by Capri Ventures. 11. Arcade which creates effortlessly beautiful demos, in minutes has raised $14M Series A led by Kleiner Perkins. 12. World Class Health which enables global employers to provide employees a world-class healthcare experience has raised $8M led by AlleyCorp. 13. Alloy Women's Health which is a telehealth company addressing the healthcare needs of women over 40 has raised $16M led by Kairos HQ. 14. PODIUM.io which is a cloud-based platform that speeds up the building manufacturing process from design to supply has raised $15M led by Autodesk. 15. Moonvalley which builds cinematic videos with AI has raised $70M led by General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures. 16. Portcast, a logistics technology company that offers services for tracking containers and enhancing customer communication has raised $6.5M led by Susquehanna International Group. 17. Prompt Security which enables organizations to adopt Generative AI safely and securely has raised $18M led by Jump Capital. 18. CalmWave which is leveraging AI to bring operational health to hospitals has raised $5.3M led by Third Prime. ♻️ Repost this to share with others. And follow Ollie Forsyth for the latest startups to watch!

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Klarna is launching a credit card! Will it work? Credit card launches have a mixed success. Look at, for example: - Apple Card And there have been several new ones launched recently. Ex: - Robinhood Gold Card And there are others with similar approaches to Klarna's Card - Affirm has debit card that allows users to pay any purchase over time (Klarna's Card has similar functionality, but is on credit rails) - Upgrade, Inc. has the OneCard which is a credit card and BNPL all in one + a checking account and more. The 2 big advantages they have launching a card are (1) distribution (can sell to existing users) (2) product (rewards) DISTRIBUTION On distribution, Klarna Stacks has a great user base to cross-sell into: - 25 million active users in the US (150M globally) versus - 15 million for Affirm - 5 million customers for Upgrade Take these numbers w/ grain of salt, they are company reported figures and not 100% apples to apples. 25 million, however exactly they measure it, is a lot. Bank of America for example has 55 million digitally active users. PRODUCT Rewards. Because Klarna has 500,000 merchants on network, they can do something from day one that few others can...offer merchant funded rewards. Their key feature is "10% cash back at select merchants". Consumers are addicted to points and it's hard to get them to switch from their favorite cards. Touting something big like "10% cash back at select merchants" might work for some users if targeted appropriately and they don't feel like this is a bait and switch. WHY IT MATTERS In fintech more broadly, we are entering a "rebundling error". Point solutions like Robinhood, Affirm, Klarna have reached scale and are become multi-product companies with deep customer relationships. Some of these companies are going to figure it out and that is exciting. Even if a few of these product launches fail, big banks should be worried. Their product bundles haven't changed much in the last 10 years and for the first time they have real competition. Consumers are the real winners. For the first time in a while, they have new options on how to spend, save and invest. Best of luck to the Klarna team and other folks building here!

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I have been having a lot of discussions on how real this major SaaS replacement using AI is for Klarna. And if so, how replicable is this? As mentioned on this last week's episode of All In, Chamath Palihapitiya talks about how the industry historically "never went after the system of record" software, like Salesforce or ERPs. They are too hard to rip and replace. Now we are hearing from Klarna that they have managed to do this with AI. Systems of record have a REALLY low tolerance for being wrong, especially in regulated industries. How much custom work is required to get AI to generate accurate enough results to do this? These systems are notoriously complex. They require A LOT of training for admins to maintain, and even then it is a struggle. Each implementation is different. Consulting firms make TONS of money customizing instances of this software to make it work for companies. Now Salesforce is shifting gears to enable their customers to build agents themselves with Agentforce. What does this mean for their underlying software? Did they see the writing on the wall? Many enterprises have leaned on SaaS to provide a framework to operate, automate, and collect/manage data (you tell us how to do it). These SaaS providers take usage and learnings across companies, build functionality, and deliver it across their customers. And they maintain it! Of course, there are some enterprises who think they know best and build their own. Then companies assign an owner of that system and the processes around it to coordinate efforts and make sure it is providing value (if they do it correctly). They are essentially relying on "what is everyone else doing?" combined with "who knows our business the best internally to make sure it works for us?" A downside (and upside) is that SaaS vendors are incentivized to generalize patterns (especially VC backed companies), so customization is usually always needed at large enterprises. If AI can build and maintain these systems, problem solved on that end of relying on external vendors to do it. If it can also solve the customization problem, even better!! However.... what happens when the knowledge sharing stops? The generalized patterns, although sometimes tough to customize, are also incredibly useful to introduce new frameworks and shifts in the way these enterprises operate. This is why Salesforce has been adopted across so many enterprises. It was a much better operating model than what they had before. This really begs the question of which parts will get open sourced and shared. Will the common patterns and frameworks just become freely available and the customization and maintenance will get automated by AI? "Software was eating the world, now it is eating itself". https://lnkd.in/gZ93bx-S

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Losing US$157 billion (INR12 lakh crores)! Imagine investing INR1 in a company, which becomes ~10x and you continue to hold it. Due to market conditions and the company's performance, the value of your investment decreases from ~10x to 4.5x and you sell off entirely, making some handsome gains. Fast forward 5 years, the market dynamics enable the stock price to shoot up, giving a notional value exceeding INR225+ - a simplified calculation. This is exactly what happened with Masayoshi Son, the visionary founder of the SoftBank Group, when in 2019 he sold his 5% holding in Nvidia for US$3.3 billion. Today, those shares would have been worth US$160 billion (50x the sale price). During his recent annual shareholder meeting, he described the incident as “I had to tearfully sell the shares”, "frustrating to remember the ones I missed”, and “The fish that got away was big.” Indeed, timing the market is nearly impossible. In the field of venture capital, the challenges are magnified because you are not investing in the current realities but in the future potential (what it can be tomorrow). #AI #Nvidia #SoftBank #VentureCapital #Investments https://lnkd.in/dkjxzm68

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CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar Ptursson has revealed plans to make EVE Online's Carbon Development Platform open source, integrating optional blockchain technology. This move could allow EVE Online to live forever, encouraging community-led innovations and improvements. Get the full scoop here: #Blockchain #Gaming

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One of our exciting portfolio companies - juna.ai just completed their $7.5M seed round, and are on a mission to transform the manufacturing industry through AI-driven autonomous process control. Their technology is applicable across a wide range of industries, including chemical, steel, paper, cement, textile, and food processing. They have already deployed their solutions with early customers, demonstrating real-world effectiveness and tangible savings. 🔊 *They are actively hiring across multiple tech roles and invite passionate individuals to join their journey.* 🔊 *They are open to new customers and design partners in the mentioned industries.* Great opportunity to optimize your processes, and save energy. When I present ellipsis and say we invest only in AI deep-tech, I am often asked whether we invest also in AI applications. My answer is "Yes, but..." - Yes, but only in companies that solve big hard high value problems, and they do so by utilizing unique expertise and data. That'a the only moat in our opinion. juna.ai is the poster child example for such a company. Check out their Blog post - https://lnkd.in/exAMX534, and TechCrunch article -https://lnkd.in/dtyGC5uf 🥇 #ai #innovation #enterprisesoftware #disruption #automation

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An INTJ Fund conversation with Sofie Marien (Co-Founder + CTO of NoMi). NoMi aims to be the Duolingo for self-help. NoMi was in A16Z GAMES SPEEDRUN's recent cohort and backed by Jorge Mazel (previously Chief Product Officer at Duolingo). Sofie is an award-winning mobile developer and marketer with over eleven years experience in games at PlayStation and Hasbro.  She's worked on multiple top-charting games including Horizon Zero Dawn and Monopoly. She's now taking her experience to turn relatable Gen-Z experiences into playable games. I think a lot of people simply need more repetitions in order to learn how to deal with social situations. In the future, I can see people simulating everything from tough conversations to dates in game like experiences. What's a social situation you wished you could have simulated in a game as practice? Want to make friends with people like Sofie? Apply to join the INTJ Fund community - https://lnkd.in/g9tcUZVg #selfhelp #mentalhealth #gaming #INTJFund #INTJ #A16Z #INTJwomen #womeninstem

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My VC-tech newsletter for the first half of September can be summarized in 5 words - Summer Slump and AI Hype - https://lnkd.in/eHuihDec European VC Market 📉 August was the worst month for European startup funding since April 2017, with only €1.8bn raised across 247 funding rounds. 📈 Despite this, median late venture rounds are growing in size, with the median Series B round size up 40% year on year. Global VC Trends 📉 The number of VC transactions continued to decline in Q2'24, to 4,207 from 4,452 in Q1. 📈 However, aggregate value ticked up to $69.4bn from $61.2bn, boosted by tech deals. 🚨 Exits continued at a very moderate pace, with only 13 VC-backed IPOs in Q2 compared to 44 in Q1 2024. AI Update 🤖 AI features prominently among the 6,868 VC funds currently in market worldwide, aiming to raise a combined $462.6bn. 💰 The US has increased its domination of VC in recent years, with prominent funds like Andreessen Horowitz and Balderton Capital investing heavily in AI (A16Z did close their Miami shop which Khosla shrugged off). Mega-Deals and IPOs 🚀 Safe Superintelligence raised a $1+ billion round at a reported $5 billion valuation, while OpenAI and Coreweave are out to raise unprecedented rounds. 💰 Sequoia Capital bought $861 million worth of Stripe shares. IPO 🔔 Companies like OpenAI, CoreWeave, and Rebellions are reportedly planning IPOs. Come along for much else on how VC valuations shaped up in early Sep, the California AI act, AI eating jobs at your favourite BNPL shop, Paul Graham's awesome new article on 'founder mode'. #VC #Startup #Tech #AI #IPO #VentureCapital #Funding #Innovation

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Friday and Saturday Fun with Water. It's mildly interesting - so 100 words for a GPT-4 question “consumes" 3 water bottles. What to do with this information? Need to use AI? Use less AI? Deploy innovative cooling technologies for data centers? What is the integrated view of AI - the value of AI in solving economic, environmental, and social problems vs the complete footprint of AI applications (water, carbon, energy, materials, etc.) of AI? We need a more sophisticated conversation to develop holistic strategies, not "sound bites" (bytes). #water #carbon #AI #handprint #gesi Thoughts? Tom Freyberg Garrett Kephart Victoria Edwards Taylor Cox Reuven Carlyle Kat Hunt Rylan Dobson Colin Herron Alex Money Stuart Orr James Dalton Gaetane Suzenet Jacob Tompkins Imran Jaferey John Hoholik Maeve Hall James Harvey

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That’s a business model to increase the efficiency of any kind of activity powered by Human and AI without any record studios.

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Coming soon on Aug 1: "Transformation to a Fresh Tomorrow." This is theme of our 3rd Annual Web3 Investor Day, as we welcome the innovators and investors convening in Chicago for these discussions around the next generation Internet. Our theme reflects the optimism, determination and commitment investors and innovators have solidified off the depths of the bear markets to drive success in the bull markets. Broader investor optimism suggests that fresh institutional funds into Web3 across both tokens and equity may endure.  Across adoption metrics, customer interest and developer activity, Web3 seems to have normalized. It’s refreshing to see the transformation and next evolution of Web3 and it’s refreshing to meet many of you on August 1.  And yet, even with the improved optimism from last year, there still remain open questions in the development and adoption of our next generation Internet:  1. the balance of speculative versus productive investor capital in this current cycle 2. the productive role of liquid trading capital in fostering Web3 innovation 3. the attractiveness of venture investments in follow on financings 4. the role of policy and regulation that may enhance innovation 5. the continued developer activity to improve the underlying infrastructure 6. other Web3 recovery characteristics in target customer use cases. We remain committed to navigating regulatory shifts, fostering investor optimism, and building the customer use cases for Web3.  Physical spaces enhance our innovation conversations.  In person relationships foster our collaboration.  Relationships drive breakthrough innovations.  Reach out to Rizza Torres at Decasonic if you would like to join us! #web3investorday #web3 #venturecapital

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Unlocking the potential of fundraising FinTech startups across Europe! 🌍 These are some of the most recent FinTech startups raising on Startup Fountain From revolutionizing crowdfunding to simplifying investment processes, these startups are at the forefront of financial innovation. Stay updated as we highlight the trailblazers transforming the finance landscape. 💡 Any early stage fundraising FinTechs I'm missing? Let me know in the comments. All startups can sign up for free to get introduced to over 700 investors in Europe. #Fintech #Europe #Finance

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